Wounded Knee Massacre/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are on a road trip. Moby is driving the car. They are passing through a landscape of weirdly shaped cliffs. They see a road marker that reads: Entering Badlands National Park. TIM: Okay. This is the strangest place we've seen on our road trip. It's like being on another planet. A sheet of paper hits the windshield. Moby's arm extends, X a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what happened at Wounded Knee? Thanks, Violet. Hmm. The Wounded Knee Massacre was one of the darkest events in American history. Tim opens and examines a South Dakota Road Atlas. TIM: You know, it took place not too far from here. Want to check it out? MOBY: Beep. Tim and Moby walk up to a grave site with a large memorial stone. TIM: Right here. On December 29th, 1890, the U.S. Army opened fire on an encampment of American Indians. Close to 300 people were killed. Armed U.S. soldiers overlook a Native American camp.. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, in 1890, life was pretty grim for the Lakota Sioux people, a nation of bison-hunters from the Northern Plains. An image shows a Lakota Sioux hunting party. TIM: Things took a bad turn when the U.S. government started to encourage the killing of bison. By 1890, the creatures were almost extinct. An animation shows a bison with an American flag as a backdrop. The bison fades to a silhouette. TIM: The government also took most of the Sioux's land. An animation shows a map of Sioux Territory in South Dakota. From 1870 to 1890, their land becomes smaller and smaller, until it is barely a third of its original area. TIM: By law, they now had to live on reservations, tracts of land set aside for American Indians. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, no. Government overseers immediately tried to make the Sioux adopt white American culture, whether they liked it or not. They were told to farm, but soil on the reservations was poor and the Sioux were traditionally hunters. An image shows a government official giving instructions to two Sioux Indians. TIM: When the government refused to supply them with extra food, many Indians began to starve. MOBY: Beep. Moby looks sad. TIM: Like I said, life was pretty grim. But during this sad time, the Sioux became inspired by a new religious movement. It started in Nevada, then spread like wildfire among many different Indian nations of the West. It was called the Ghost Dance. Groups of believers would paint their bodies, dance in a big circle, and sing sacred hymns. An image shows a group of American Indians doing the Ghost Dance around a fire. TIM: During the dance, they'd envision a world that was completely renewed. The buffalo had returned, and starvation and violence had disappeared. The land belonged to everyone, and all people lived in harmony. An image shows an imaginary America, with green pastures, ample buffalo, and peaceful coexistence between white Americans and American Indians. Above it all is a rainbow in the sky. TIM: By performing the Ghost Dance, believers thought they could make the new world a reality. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah. It started out as a peaceful movement. But the Lakota, well, again, they'd been having a pretty rough time. In their Ghost Dance, the new world was for Indians alone. White people would be buried beneath the soil. White people fade from the peaceful image. TIM: They designed special ghost shirts, which they believed were bulletproof. An image shows a Lakota Indian wearing a ghost shirt. TIM: Government agents at the reservations started getting nervous. They thought the new religion would lead to a violent revolt, so thousands of soldiers were sent to South Dakota to keep the Sioux in line. An animation shows a very large number of marching soldiers. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, they decided to arrest the Indian leaders they thought were behind the movement. One of these leaders was a highly respected chief named Big Foot. An image shows Big Foot. TIM: When the Army found him, he was leading a group of about 350 Sioux to the Pine Ridge Reservation. There, they hoped to find food and shelter. A map shows the location of the Pine Ridge Reservation, in southwestern South Dakota. TIM: The group was ragged and underdressed for the winter, and Big Foot himself was sick with pneumonia. The soldiers ordered Big Foot's group to make a temporary camp near Wounded Knee Creek. An animation shows Big Foot directing a line of Sioux across a river. Armed U.S. soldiers arrive. TIM: Early the next morning, they searched the camp for guns. A ghost dancer named Yellow Bird urged the Indians to resist. He claimed their ghost shirts would protect them. And then... MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, there was a scuffle, and one of the Indians' guns went off. We'll probably never know if it was accidental or not, but either way, the soldiers started firing on the Indians. They even shot women and children as they tried to escape. An image shows a large group of soldiers shooting Indian men, women, and children. TIM: The Indians fought back, but they were no match for the Army. In a short amount of time, 300 Indians were dead, including Chief Big Foot. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Actually, the soldiers weren't punished at all. Believe it or not, 20 of them received Medals of Honor. If you ask me, it was one of the most shameful events in our country's history. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, we should probably get going. But I'm glad we came. Tim and Moby walk away from the memorial, back toward their car. Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Transcripts